moosemike

Yinz need to move a little farther south then you'll appreciate those pools. It's 100 degrees here right now, i just wish I had a pool to jump in!

If you aren't cleanly killing deer with .30 caliber rifles then something is really wrong! I might add that the .45-70 didn't have as much to do with the bison as people think. It only came out in 1873 and the southern herd was already extinct and the northern herd was really on the ropes by then. Cartridges like the .50-70 and .50-90 played a far bigger role.

I've used the 243 for deer hunting through the years. Never killed any deer with one. I know others who kill deer with them and they work. I prefer the .30-06 myself.

Good point.

Well I agree with what you've said. I used the the .30-30 for a little over a decade and now don't use it at all because I've found the .270 and .30-06 to be quicker killers that leave better blood trail if needed. My BIL has used the .243 for about thirty years and he always gets his deer but not always with one shot and he doesn't always have a good blood trail to follow.

Some shooters indeed are undergunned with a .243. Some aren't. Some should probably take up golf instead.

I have to chuckle whenever I read how ineffective the .243 is on deer or how much "room for error" a bigger caliber gives you. A .243 through the boiler room equals dead deer. If you aren't putting your bullets in the boiler room you are either shooting too much gun or taking shots beyond your talent.

I've had the most DRT's with the .30-06 and 150 grain factory loads. I've had my deer run the farthest before dying with 180 grains. I've switched to Nosler 125's for this year and I'm anxious to see what they do.

I wear my Woolrich coat or vest. Red/Black plaid. I'd try Woolrich's website if I was looking to buy more of their clothing.

They may sound "cheap" but the Weatherby Vanguard is cheap. And I'd rather have a Winchester model 70 any day over the Mark V's cheap little brother. And I'd rather have the model 70 over the Mark V too.

Windy conditions will certainly put the kabosh to a Moose hunt almost quicker than anything else. If you kill any moose in strong winds you either know what you're doing or are lucky.

I can't speak for him but I drive out west when I hunt out there. You miss too much by flying. Half the fun for me is the drive.

They're my favorite animal to hunt as well. I think I'd rather be hunting Moose without getting any than be successfully hunting anything else. I'm just happier when I'm Moose hunting.

H&R made a single shot in .450M for a couple years and I had one of them too. I had the H&R in .45-70 as well. Those guns would lay a hurtin' on ya.

I had a Marlin in .450M. The recoil is much stouter than a .30-06. Even a .300 Win. mag doesn't kick as bad. Still I found the gun to be a lot of fun even if my shoulder didn't agree the day after shooting. I killed a large Bull Moose with the .450M in '04 and it was definitely my quickest kill I've had on a Moose.

The 9.3X62 should be perfect for Moose. Go get a big one.

For some reason Antelope have always gone straight down when I've shot them. I've shot two with a .270 Winchester and 150 grain loads and two with a .308 and 150 grain loads and they all four were DRT's including one that I killed on a dead run at 125 yards and it somersaulted at the shot. I then shot a whitetail with that same .270 150 grain and had trouble finding it. Good hit but very little blood and the deer traveled over 100 yards.

Ahhh, I should have known. Why didn't you mention earlier that you are perfect? Silly me. Have a great night. Not saying I'm perfect. But if the deer is standing still my bullet is not going to end up in the shoulder blade unless I want it to. I've shot enough deer now to feel confident about that fact. I think you felt I was being arrogant but that was not my intent.

Well good luck and go get your Moose. Nothing wrong with a .280. Heck, I've even considered taking the .270 Moose hunting myself although I still think long and hard about getting a .300 Weatherby before I go for Moose again.

With that being your definition of brush I agree with your choice of projectile. I feel that a 180 will absolutely go through "light brush" and stay on target better than lighter bullets. When you said brush I was picturing saplings and limbs and I don't think bullets that hit such things can be counted on to stay on course. Also as far as "pencil wounds" go my 180's didn't fail to expand, they just didn't expand to the degree I would prefer. Every deer I ever shot with 180's I found very dead. I just like the DRT results I see with the 150 a lot more.

Considering there is no reason to put a bullet into the shoulder blade unless you choose to that is not much of a problem.

My experience with 180s is the exact opposite. I've shot four deer with 180s from my '06, two with Federal classic SPs and two with Federal HE Nosler Partitions and every one dropped in it's tracks. On the other hand, both of the bucks I shot with my .450 Marlin just kept walking like nothing happened. One I put three (350 gr Interlocks) through and the other took two (325 gr nerf bullets) before dropping. All were good hits in the boiler room but there was a .458 hole going in and a .458 hole coming out. The weird part was they didn't react at all, never broke stride or acted like they had been hit in any way. This year I have some 250 grain Barnes TSX FP loaded for the .450 so we'll see how they work. ;D Maybe you shoot for the shoulder? I tend to go behind the shoulde with my shot placement.

I was using the Remington Core-Lokt, Win. Power-Point, and Sierra Pro-Hunter. I don't really buy into any "brush bucking" characteristics too much of one bullet verse another. Too many tests have been done by gunwriters and no real winner emerged. I just try to pick my shots between the brush if I can.

More power to you. But I've shot six deer with 180 grain bullets in .30 cal and I can tell you those days are over. The 180 goes in one side and out the other and leaves more of a pencil wound through the deer. The deer then runs and you blood trail him for anywhere from 50 to 150 yards and then you collect your deer. With a 150 grain you shoot and the deer falls within sight and you walk over and get your deer.

Not necessarily. I've found that a bullet that disintegrates inside the chest cavity gives drop dead results.